the sides and fore part of the neck white, irregularly barred with
blackish-grey; the upper parts of a duller black than in summer.
There is nothing very remarkable in the anatomy of this bird, beyond
what is observed in the Auks and Guillemots. The ribs extend very far
back, and, having the dorsal and sternal portions much elongated, are
capable of aiding in giving much enlargement to the body, of which
the internal, or thoracic and abdominal cells are very large. The
subcutaneous cells are also largely developed, as in many other diving
and plunging birds.
The roof of the mouth is flat, broad, and covered with numerous series
of short horny papillæ directed backwards. The tongue is large, fleshy,
10 twelfths of an inch long, emarginate at the base, flat above, horny
on the back. The heart is large, measuring 10 twelfths in length, 8-1/2
twelfths in breadth. The right lobe of the liver is 1-3/12 inch in
length, the left 1-1/12; the gall-bladder is elliptical. The kidneys
are very large.
The œsophagus, Fig. 1, _a b c_, is 3 inches 10 twelfths long, its
walls very thin, its inner or mucous coat thrown into longitudinal
plates; its diameter at the middle of the neck 5 eighths, diminishing
to 4 twelfths as it enters the thorax. It then enlarges and forms
the proventriculus, _c e_, which has a diameter of 8 twelfths; the
glandules are cylindrical, very numerous, and arranged in a complete
belt, half an inch in breadth, in the usual manner, as seen in Fig. 2,
_b c_. The stomach, properly so called, Fig. 1, _d g_, is oblong, 11
twelfths in length, 8 twelfths in breadth; its muscular coat moderately
thick, and disposed into two lateral muscles with large tendons; its
epithelium, Fig. 2, _c d e_, thick, hard, with numerous longitudinal
and transverse rugæ, and of a dark reddish colour. The duodenum, _f g
h_, curves in the usual manner at the distance of 1-1/4 inch, ascends
toward the upper surface of the right lobe of the liver for 1 inch and
10 twelfths, then forms 4 loops, and from above the proventriculus,
passes directly backward. The length of the intestine, _f g h i_,
is 16-1/2 inches, its diameter 2-1/4 twelfths, and nearly uniform as
far as the rectum, which is 1-1/4 inch long, at first 3 twelfths in
diameter, enlarged into an ovate cloaca of great size, Fig. 3. _b_; the
cœca _a_, _a_, 41 twelfths long, cylindrical, 1/2 twelfth in diameter,
obtuse.
The trachea, Fig. 1. _k_, _l_, is very wide, flattened, its rings
unossified, its length 2-9/12 inches, its breadth 3 twelfths, nearly
uniform, but at the lower part contracted to 2 twelfths. There are
75 rings, with 5 inferior blended rings, which are divided before and
behind. The bronchi, Fig. 1. _m_, _m_, are wide and rather elongated,
with about 25 half rings. The contractor muscles are extremely thin,
the sterno-tracheal slender; there is a pair of inferior laryngeal
attached to the first bronchial rings.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
The above account of the digestive organs of this bird will be seen
to be very different from that given by Sir Everard Home, who has, in
all probability, mistaken the species. “There is still,” says he, “one
more variety in the structure of the digestive organs of birds, that
live principally upon animal food, which has come under my observation;
and with an account of which I shall conclude the present lecture.
This bird is the Alea Alle of Linnæus, the Little Auk. The termination
of the œsophagus is only known by the ending of the cuticular lining,
and the beginning of the gastric glands; for the cardiac cavity is
one continued tube, extending considerably lower down in the cavity of
the abdomen, and gradually enlarging at the lower part; it then turns
up to the right side, about half-way to the origin of the cavity,
and is there connected to a small gizzard, the digastric muscle of
which is strong, and a small portion of the internal surface on each
side has a hard cuticular covering. The gastric glands at the upper
part are placed in four distinct longitudinal rows, becoming more
and more numerous towards the lower part of the cavity, and extend to
the bottom, where it turns up. The extent of the cavity in which the
gastric glands are placed, exceeds any thing met with in the other
birds that live upon fish; and the turn which the cavity takes almost
directly upwards, and the gizzard being at the highest part instead
of the lowest, are peculiarities, as far as I am acquainted, not met
with in any other birds of prey. This mechanism, which will be better
understood by examining the engraving, makes the obstacles to the
food in its passage to the intestines unusually great; and enables
the bird to digest both fishes and sea-worms with crustaceous shells.
It appears to be given for the purpose of economizing the food in two
different ways,—one retaining it longer in the cardiac cavity, the
other supplying that cavity with a greater quantity of gastric liquor
than in other birds. This opinion is further confirmed by the habits
of life of this particular species of bird, which spends a portion of
the year in the frozen regions of Nova Zembla, where the supplies of
nourishment must be both scanty and precarious.”
With respect to this statement and the reasonings founded upon it,
it will be seen from the description and accompanying figures above,
taken directly from nature, and without the least reference to the
dissections or theories of any person, that the œsophagus and stomach
of the Little Auk or Guillemot, _Alca Alle_ of Linnæus, are very
similar to those of other Auks, Guillemots, Divers, and fish-eating
birds in general. The cardiac or proventricular cavity forms no curve;
and the gizzard with which it is connected, is not small, nor has it
merely a small portion of the internal surface on each side covered
with a hard cuticular lining; for the epithelium covers its whole
surface, and is of considerable extent. The gastric glands are not at
all disposed as represented by Sir E. HOME, but are aggregated in the
form of a compact belt half an inch broad, Fig. 2. _b_, _c_. As to
the ingenious reasoning by which the economy of the Little Auk is so
satisfactorily accounted for, it is enough here to say, that having
no foundation, it is of less than no value. But were there such a
curvature as that in question, there could be no propriety in supposing
that it presented any great obstacle to the passage of the food, or
retained it longer than usual. Nor is the statement as to scanty and
precarious supply of nourishment correct; for the Arctic Seas, to which
this bird resorts in vast numbers, are represented by navigators as
abounding in small crustacea, on which chiefly the Little Auk feeds,
and that to such an extent as to colour the water for leagues. Besides,
if there were such a scarcity of food in Nova Zembla, why should the
birds go there? In short, the whole statement is incorrect; and the
many compilers, from Dr CARUS to the most recent, who have pressed it
into their service, may, in their future editions, with propriety leave
it out, and supply its place with something equally ingenious.
The egg of this species measures one inch and nearly five-eighths
in length, one inch and an eighth in its greatest breadth. It is
remarkably large for the size of the bird, and of a dull uniform pale
greenish-blue.
LEAST PETREL.
_THALASSIDROMA PELAGICA_, LEACH.
PLATE CCCXL. MALE AND FEMALE.
In August 1830, being becalmed on the banks of Newfoundland, I obtained
several individuals of this species from a flock composed chiefly of
_Thalassidroma Leachii_, and _Th. Wilsoni_. Their smaller size, and
the more rapid motions of their wings, rendered them quite conspicuous,
and suggested the idea of their being a new species, although a closer
inspection shewed them to belong to the present. In their general
manners, while feeding, floating on the water, or rambling round the
boat in which I went in pursuit of them, they did not differ materially
from the other species. Their flight, however, was more hurried and
irregular, and none of them uttered any note or cry, even when wounded
and captured. I have been assured that this bird breeds on the sandy
beaches of Sable Island on the coast of Nova Scotia; but not having
had an opportunity of visiting it, or any other breeding place, I here
present you with Mr HEWITSON’s observations on this subject.
“In an excursion,” says this amiable and enterprising naturalist,
“through the Shetland Islands during the present summer, in search
of rarities for this work (the British Oology), I had the very great
satisfaction of seeing and taking many of these most interesting
birds alive; they breed in great numbers on several of the islands,
principally upon Foula, the north of Hunst, and upon Papa, and Oxna,
two small islands in the Bay of Scalloway; the last of these I visited
on the 31st of May in hopes of procuring their eggs (it being the
season in which most of the sea-birds begin to lay); but in this I
was disappointed; the fishermen who knew them well by the name of
Swallows, assured me that my search would be quite useless, that they
had not yet “come up from sea,” and so it proved. Sixteen days after
this (June 16th and three following days) I was at Foula, but was alike
unsuccessful, the birds had arrived at their breeding places, but had
not yet begun laying their eggs; numbers of them were sitting in their
holes, and were easily caught; one man brought me about a dozen tied
up in an old stocking, two of which I kept alive in my room for nearly
three days, and derived very great pleasure from their company; during
the day they were mostly inactive, and after pacing about the floor for
a short time, poking their head into every hole, they hid themselves
between the feet of the table and the wall; I could not prevail upon
them to eat any thing, though I tried to tempt them with fish and oil;
their manner of walking is very light and pleasing, and differing from
that of every other bird which I have seen; they carry their body so
far forward and so nearly horizontal, as to give them the appearance
of being out of equilibrium. In the evening, toward sun-set, they left
their hiding places, and for hours afterwards, never ceased in their
endeavours to regain their liberty; flying round and round the room,
or fluttering against the windows; when flying, their length of wing,
and white above the tail, gives them a good deal the appearance of our
House-Martin. I went to bed and watched them in their noiseless flight
long ere I fell asleep, but in the morning they had disappeared; one
had fortunately made its escape through a broken pane in the window
which a towel should have occupied, the other had fallen into a basin,
full of the yolks of eggs which I had been blowing, and was drowned.
I regretted much the fate of a being so interesting, by its very
remarkable, wandering, solitary, and harmless life. Before leaving
Shetland I again visited the island of Oxna, and though so late as the
30th of June, they were only just beginning to lay their eggs. In Foula
they breed in the holes in the cliff, at a great height above the sea;
but here under stones which form the beach, at a depth of three or four
feet, or more, according to that of the stones; as they go down to
the earth, beneath them, on which to lay their eggs. In walking over
the surface, I could hear them, very distinctly, singing in a sort of
warbling chatter, a good deal like swallows when fluttering above our
chimneys, but harsher; and in this way, by listening attentively, was
guided to their retreat, and, after throwing out stones as large as I
could lift on all sides of me, seldom failed in capturing two or three
seated on their nests, either under the lowest stone or between two
of them. The nests, though of much the same materials as the ground
on which they were placed, seem to have been made with care; they
were of small bits of stalks of plants, and pieces of hard dry earth.
Like the rest of the genus, the Stormy Petrel lays invariably one egg
only. During the day-time they remain within their holes; and though
the fishermen are constantly passing over their heads (the beach under
which they breed being appropriated for the drying of fish), they are
then seldom heard, but toward night become extremely querulous; and
when most other birds are gone to rest, issue forth in great numbers,
spreading themselves far over the surface of the sea. The fishermen
then meet them very numerously; and though they have not previously
seen one, are sure to be surrounded by them upon throwing pieces of
fish overboard.”
The egg measures one inch and an eighth in length, six and a half
eighths in breadth, is nearly equally rounded at both ends, rather
thick-shelled, and pure white, but generally with numerous minute dots
of dull red at the larger end, sometimes forming a circular band.
PROCELLARIA PELAGICA, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p.
212.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 826.
STORMY PETREL, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 327.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXL. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, slender, compressed towards the end,
straight, with the tips curved. Upper mandible with the nostrils
forming a tube at the base, beyond which, for a short space, the dorsal
line is nearly straight, then suddenly decurved, the sides declinate,
the edges sharp, the tip compressed and acute. Lower mandible with the
angle rather long, narrow, and pointed, the dorsal line beyond it very
slightly concave and decurved, the sides erect, the edges sharp, the
tip slightly decurved.
Head of moderate size, roundish, anteriorly narrowed. Neck short. Body
rather slender. Feet of moderate length, very slender; tibia bare at
its lower part; tarsus very slender, reticulate; hind toe extremely
minute, being reduced, as it were, to a slightly decurved claw;
anterior toes rather long and extremely slender, obscurely scutellate
above, connected by striated webs with concave margins. Claws slender,
arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage very soft, blended, the feathers distinct only on the wings,
which are very long and narrow; primary quills tapering, but rounded,
the second longest, the first three and a half twelfths, the third
a twelfth and a half shorter; secondaries short, the outer incurved,
obliquely rounded. Tail rather long, broad, slightly rounded, of twelve
broad rounded feathers.
Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The general colour of the upper
parts is greyish-black, with a tinge of brown, and moderately glossed;
the lower parts of a sooty brown; the secondary coverts margined
externally with dull greyish-white; the feathers of the rump and the
upper tail-coverts white, with the shafts black, the tail-coverts
broadly tipped with black.
Length to end of tail 5-3/4 inches, to end of claws 5-1/4, to end of
wings 6-1/4; extent of wings 13-1/2; wing from flexure 5-1/8; tail
2-1/8; bill above (4-1/2)/8, along the edge of lower mandible 5/8;
tarsus 7/8; middle toe and claw 7/8; outer toe nearly equal; inner toe
and claw (5-1/2)/8. Weight 4-1/2 drachms; the individual poor.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXL. Fig. 2.
The Female resembles the male.
A male bird, from Nova Scotia, examined. The upper mandible internally
has a longitudinal median ridge; the palate is convex, with two lateral
ridges. The tongue is 5-1/2 twelfths long, emarginate and serrulate at
the base, very much flattened, tapering to a horny point. The heart,
Fig. 1, _a_, is of a very elongated narrow conical form, 2 twelfths
in length, 4 twelfths in breadth at the base. The lobes of the liver,
_b_, _c_, are equal, 6-1/2 twelfths long. The œsophagus, _d_, _e_, is 1
inch 10 twelfths long, of a uniform diameter of 2-1/2 twelfths; behind
the liver, it enters as it were a large sac, _f_, _g_, _h_, 9 twelfths
of an inch long, which gradually expands to a diameter of 6 twelfths,
forming a broad rounded fundus _g_, then curves forwards on the right
side, and at _h_ terminates in a small gizzard, about 3 twelfths long,
and nearly of the same breadth, from the left side of which comes off
the intestine. The latter passes forward, curving to the right, behind
and in contact with the posterior surfaces of the liver, then forms
the duodenal fold, _h_, _j_, _k_, in the usual manner. The intestine,
on arriving at the right lobe of the liver, at _k_, receives the
biliary duct, curves backward beneath the kidneys, and forms several
convolutions, which terminate above the proventriculus. It then becomes
much narrower, and passes directly backward, in a straight course to
the rectum, which is only 4 twelfths of an inch long. The cœca are
oblong, 1-1/4 twelfth in length, and 1/2 twelfth in diameter. The
intestine is 8-1/2 inches long, its diameter diminishing gradually from
2 twelfths to 3/4 of a twelfth.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
In Fig 2. are represented:—the lower part of the œsophagus, _d_, _e_,
_f_; the proventricular sac, _f_, _g_, _h_; the very small gizzard,
_h_; the duodenal fold of the intestine, _i_, _j_, _k_. Here the parts
are viewed from the left side.
Fig. 3. represents:—the proventricular sac thrust forward, _f_, _g_,
_h_, the gizzard, _h_; the duodenum, _i_, _j_, _k_, pulled to the right
side; the convolutions of the intestine, _l_, _m_, under the kidneys,
the cœca, _n_; the rectum, _o_, and the cloaca, _p_.
The proventricular glands are very numerous, but not so closely placed
as is usual, although scattered over a much larger extent, from _e_ to
_g_ in Fig. 2. Between the termination of the glands and the stomach
there is a portion destitute of glandules. The stomach or gizzard
has its muscular coat thick, its tendons moderate, its inner surface
covered with a rather thick but not very hard epithelium, which is more
prolonged on two opposite sides, although in the fundus it is complete.
This curious digestive apparatus agrees very nearly with that
described and figured by Sir EVERARD HOME as that of _Alca Alle_. The
stomach, it is seen, is excessively large in proportion to the size
of the bird; but why it should be so, and moreover be curved in this
manner, is not very obvious. Conjectures are easily made, and might
run in this form. This little bird, which wanders over the face of
the ocean, subsisting upon garbage, oily and fatty substances, small
fishes, and even sea-weeds, requires a large stomach for the reception
of its heterogeneous fare, which not being always very nutritious
or easily digestible, must be very plentifully intermixed with the
gastric juices, and detained a considerable time; which conditions
are accordingly provided for by the very great number and extensive
dispersion of the proventricular glandules, and the curve of the organ.
Should any hard substances, as crustacea, be introduced, they are
pounded by the gizzard; but as the bird is little addicted to feeding
on such substances, that organ is reduced to a very small size.
The aperture of the glottis is 1-1/2 twelfth long. The trachea is
1 inch 7 twelfths in length, wide, flattened, its diameter from 2
twelfths to 1-1/2 twelfth; its rings unossified, 82 in number. The
bronchi are short, wide, of about 12 half rings.
GREAT AUK.
_ALCA IMPENNIS_, LINN.
PLATE CCCXLI. ADULT.
The only authentic account of the occurrence of this bird on our
coast that I possess, was obtained from Mr HENRY HAVELL, brother of my
Engraver, who, when on his passage from New York to England, hooked
a Great Auk on the banks of Newfoundland, in extremely boisterous
weather. On being hauled on board, it was left at liberty on the
deck. It walked very awkwardly, often tumbling over, bit every one
within reach of its powerful bill, and refused food of all kinds.
After continuing several days on board, it was restored to its proper
element.
When I was in Labrador, many of the fishermen assured me that the
“Penguin,” as they name this bird, breeds on a low rocky island to the
south-east of Newfoundland, where they destroy great numbers of the
young for bait; but as this intelligence came to me when the season was
too far advanced, I had no opportunity of ascertaining its accuracy.
In Newfoundland, however, I received similar information from several
individuals. An old gunner residing on Chelsea Beach, near Boston, told
me that he well remembered the time when the Penguins were plentiful
about Nahant and some other islands in the Bay.
The egg is very large, measuring five inches in length, and three
in its greatest breadth. In form it resembles that of the Common
Guillemot; the shell is thick and rather rough to the touch; its
colour yellowish-white, with long irregular lines and blotches of
brownish-black, more numerous at the larger end.
ALCA IMPENNIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 201.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 791.
GREAT AUK, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 553.
Adult in Summer. Plate CCCXLI. Figs. 1, 2.
Bill as long as the head, feathered as far as the nostrils, beyond
which it is very high, exceedingly compressed, tapering, and slightly
declinate. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight for an inch
and a quarter, then declinate and decurvate to the end, the ridge
very narrow, broader at the base; the sides nearly flat, with a basal
ridge succeeded by a deep groove, then a large flat space, succeeded
by eight oblique curved ridges, the edges sharp toward the end, the
tip decurved and obtuse. Nostrils marginal, linear, short, pervious,
but concealed by the feathers. Lower mandible with the angle long,
the sides extremely narrow and linear for half their length, the horny
part not being extended over the bone, which is covered with feathers,
afterwards deep and compressed, with the dorsal line at first convex,
then ascending and concave to the end, the sides flat, with about ten
transverse ridges, the edges sharp, the tip deflected.
Head large, oblong, anteriorly narrowed. Eyes rather small. Neck short
and thick. Body compact and full. Wings extremely small, but perfectly
formed. Feet placed far behind, short, very strong; tarsus short,
compressed, anteriorly scutellate, laterally covered with angular
scales, those on the hind part very small. Hind toe wanting; third
toe longest, outer nearly as long, inner much shorter, lateral toes
marginate, all with numerous scutella and several rows of angular
scales above, and connected by reticulated webs. Claws rather small,
narrow, arched, convex above, and obtuse.
Plumage close, blended, very soft, on the head and neck short and
velvety. Wings diminutive, much pointed; the primaries tapering to
an acute point, the first longest, the rest rapidly graduated, their
coverts long; secondaries short and broad, scarcely longer than their
coverts. Tail short, pointed, of _fourteen_ feathers.
Bill black, with the grooves between the transverse ridges white. Iris
hazel. Feet and claws black. Fore part of the neck below, and all
the lower parts white, of which colour also is a large oblong patch
before each eye, and the tips of the secondary quills; the rest black,
the throat and sides of the neck tinged with chocolate-brown, the
wings with greyish-brown, the head, hind neck, and back glossed with
olive-green.
Length to end of tail 29 inches, to end of wings 23-3/4, to end of
claws 31-1/2, to carpal joint 18-1/2; extent of wings 27-1/4; wing from
flexure 7-1/8; tail 2-7/8, bill along the ridge 3-5/8, along the edge
of lower mandible 4-1/2, greatest depth of upper mandible 1, depth of
lower 5/8; width of gape 1-7/8; tarsus 2; middle toe 2-5/8, its claw
5/8; outer toe 2-5/8; its claw (3-1/2)/8; inner toe 2-(1/2)/8, its claw
(4-1/2)/8.
GOLDEN-EYE DUCK.
_FULIGULA CLANGULA_, BONAP.
PLATE CCCXLII. MALE AND FEMALE.